Digital eye strain is a modern problem that results in poor eye health and fatigue. The Vision Council listed recommendations in its recent report on the issue.

We are living in a technical society where the average time spent in front of a computer or other electronic device is increasing at an alarming rate. Experts believe that it may cause serious health problems such as digital eye strain, headaches, and back and neck pain. With the release of next generation gadgets, which only increase our exposure to electronic devices, the discussion of digital eye strain is timely a one.

The Vision Council published a report about digital eye strain a few days ago. According to the report, the majority of adults in America face vision problem due to extended use of electronic devices. Ed Greene, CEO of the Vision Council, understands that digital devices are an important part of our daily life and extended exposure to such devices is inevitable. However, despite our digital age, the Vision Council has plenty of ideas as to how digital eye strain can be avoided.

The Vision Council emphasizes the negative effects of blue light waves that are emitted from screens of electronic devices. Apart from it, the way we use these electronic devices also affects our vision. For instance, poor posture will result in backache while overhead lighting for extended periods will result in eyes soreness.

Digital eye strain is common among people using electronic devices at work and home. Some of the common symptoms include blurred vision, dry eyes, eye redness, irritation in the eyes, fatigue, neck pain, and headaches. If you have any of these symptoms, it might be the right time to start taking care of your exposure to digital screens.

According to Vision Council, you should take 20 seconds break every 20 minutes. While taking the 20-second break, try looking at something 20 feet away. Similarly, using separate eye wear for computer use. Also keeping a safe distance from the screen will help reduce digital eye strain. You can also reduce strain on your eyes by increasing the size of font, especially when you have to spend lot of time reading. Regular eye exams will help you keep your eyes healthy.

Healthy eye habits are easy to develop and they are essential since the digital age is not going anywhere. You should prepare yourself to combat the increased use of screens. Put simply, follow the advice from the Vision Council and start taking 20 second breaks when using devices, keep a safe distance you’re your computer and, lastly, try making these changes to your display:

Adjust glare and brightness

Adjust contrast and text size on your display

Upgrade your display

Although the study reveals many interesting facts and figures, there’s a single takeaway I want to highlight: with increased dependency on digital devices, eye health is more important than ever. Regular checkups, regular breaks, and adjustment of your screen display can help you stay healthy and stress free!

Once upon a time paper resumes were submitted when applying for a job. With Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Tumblr, you don’t need old-fashioned resumes any more.

Are Paper Resumes Obsolete?

Remember the days when submitting a resume or two seemed like the proper way to apply for a job? Some people say that those days are over. Today companies do recruiting via Linkedin and there are reports that even Facebook may soon be an online-employment broker.

On NASDAQ it was reported that Facebook had plans to launch its job boards along with partnering companies. That would mean your digital repute will depend heavily on your Facebook page; meaning it may be time to take down those kissing photos and give that good ol’ Facebook page a fresh scrub down. Alternatively, many people may delete and/or create a new page entirely; something new and professional.

Could Facebook or LinkedIn job boards kill the “old fashioned” paper resume? We don’t know. All indications, however, seem to tell us that paper resumes may soon become passe. It’s happening already on LinkedIn (you’ll notice on the right sidebar, you’re often “invited” to apply for certain jobs based on criteria in your profile). This is data mining at its best.

A CNN article reported on Gretchen Gunn, a principal at MGD Services, a staffing firm in Stockton, New Jersey, who said that at job fairs these days, no one comes up to her with a paper resume. If they do, she simply asks for an email. She does admit that years ago her fax machine was always busy, but today even the fax machine is out of use. Another example is Rachael King, a community worker in San Francisco who used Pinterest to display images of her speaking engagements, links to news articles and things she had done in her career. She calls her page her “Living Resume.”

While a living resume is a sweet idea, your digital repute isn’t just about the information your share with prospective employers voluntarily. Many employers search for your YouTube channel to see how you express yourself and check on what your ideas really are. Other companies in the marketing space will review the Twitter and Facebook profiles of a prospect to assess if they’re qualified (based on their social media prowess and how well it influences people). Half the interview is done before a prospect walks in the door and there are no paper resume involved whatsoever.

Union Square Ventures, a New York venture-capitalist company that invests in startups hired two analysts a month ago – not based on their resume – but rather their “web presence”. This means that your web/digital reputation does matter. So if you have no intention of cleaning up your digital ‘act’ then make sure your privacy settings limit what the general public can see. But don’t stop there –since you don’t know if a hiring manager is a friend of a friend, you’d better limit your profile so even friends of friends can’t see what’s on your page (think six-degrees of separation).

I can’t predict the future, but if Facebook develops its own job board, paper resumes may certainly become obsolete. But either way, they’ll be replaced with a digital alternative; so what will always matter are your skills, your education and your previous work experience –the basics, which really do not change.

Recently, AT&T announced their plans to hike up the prices from its current data plan offerings.

According to a Wired piece, the telecommunications giant has decided that starting on Sunday January 22nd, this is how data will work for new AT&T customers (excluding those with a contract already in place):

Although this is certainly bad news for some, it could mean good news for others if they previously fell into a bracket which gave them an excessive data allowance which they didn’t fully utilize.

But more to the point, it seems that this is a perfectly logical move for AT&T to make at the start of 2012 because of the current spurt of smartphone sales which I believe will continue rising, only picking up more steam on the way.

Because we live in a generation where everyone is used to being constantly in touch with one another, its little surprise that the mobile phone has extended this constant contact to a new extreme; constant online interaction.

To me, this decision by AT&T is a clever capitalization on the times. It’s a signal of the massive increases in data usage which directly correspond with the human fascination with, and desire to be enveloped in the digital world.